Endless
by MikariStar
Summary: A collection of stories with varying themes, which take place in the same universe as Don't Give Me Diamonds.
1. Second in Command

Endless

Journey 01: Second in Command

(Jessie is assigned a very special mission for Team Rocket. Nothing is what it looks like.)

Jessie's POV

Stop A: Solo Mission

This wasn't what I had in mind when the boss mentioned a special solo mission. At first I was proud that I was chosen for this over James and Meowth, and every other member of Team Rocket. I thought I was being recognized at last, but I was wrong.

I kept staring at Giovanni in disbelief, and he took the fact that I didn't blink and didn't stop looking at him as a sign that I was paying attention. In truth, I have no idea what he said between "listen carefully" and "that's everything you need to know," the beginning and the ending; that was all I caught.

Before I could muster a reply, Giovanni had already left while I continued to stand there as if a pokemon had frozen me. Then I sighed, and the world went back into motion.

I approached the crown prince, the heir to Giovanni's throne; because no doubt this child believes he is exactly that. Though I'm not sure if I should call him a child, he is old enough not to be a child, but he is treated as such and behaves as such.

I took a deep breath and adopted a look of determination. On the way up, everyone has to start somewhere. Admittedly, not everyone starts at the very bottom, some are born lucky and start half way up and others are even born on the top, like him, but I'm not that lucky. Even so, when you've hit rock bottom, all you have left to do is climb up and I intend to climb with all my might.

"Do you need anything?" I ask the one whom I am supposed to serve, shameful as it may be. But I did swear loyalty to Team Rocket, even if it means babysitting this spoiled brat. He looks at me with curious eyes, then approaches. I guess he wants attention.

xoxox xox xoxox

There is a knock on the door and I automatically respond to the sound with, "come in."

Cassidy enters, with Butch trailing behind her, and she stares at me with wide eyes before those same eyes turn as wicked as her smile. "You're in so much trouble!"

I laugh; she thinks I'm in the boss' office without permission. "Leave your report on the desk and get out."

Before Cassidy can counter, a commanding voice is heard, "do not make it a habit to stand in my way, move." Giovanni walks past Butch and Cassidy; then spares a short moment to look at their surprised faces. "Why are you standing in my office doorway?"

"The report," Cassidy stammers, holding out a folder.

"Put it on the desk and leave," Giovanni is not in a good mood and I know why. He forgot some of his pokemon on the desk drawer, not that I was snooping or anything, and he had to come back for them, which possibly made him late to wherever he's going.

Cassidy sets the folder on the desk, with an expression of pure shock that evolves into an icy glare directed at me, while I give her a victorious look.

"The pokeballs in the drawer," I take the pokeballs out of the desk drawer and hand them to him. Giovanni takes them, and doesn't comment on the fact that I'm sitting on his chair. "Take care of things here; I'll be gone longer than expected." With that said, Giovanni turns to leave, and glances at Butch and Cassidy on his way out. "If you have nothing else to report, then get back to work."

Butch and Cassidy give out a hasty "yes, sir" and scurry along.

I smile and pet the Persian sitting on my lap. I'm sure Giovanni only let me sit here because Persian likes to sit on his lap on this chair and be petted. It's all about Persian; I'm only a babysitter, or pokesitter for his spoiled feline baby. But today, in the eyes of my rival, I'm second in command of Team Rocket.

xoxox xox xoxox

Stop B: Secret Affair

"Traitor!" Meowth screamed at the top of his lungs. "How could you, with him, why him?" The pokemon pointed at me accusingly and I could only blink. I had just arrived at the Viridian City park, the place where we agreed to meet up.

"What are you talking about?" I was back from my solo mission pokesitting Persian, but I told Meowth and James that I was helping the boss with a top secret mission that I could not reveal to them.

"I know you were with him, I can smell him all over you!" Meowth continued shaking his pointing finger at me frantically.

"Did Meowth's hallucinations start soon after I left?" I inquired, directing the question towards James, because quite frankly I couldn't make heads or tails of what Meowth was saying.

"I'm not sure what's wrong. We were fine playing cards a while ago." James sounds very confused.

That confusion worsened with Meowth's continued accusations. "Don't deny it Jessie; you were with him the entire time. I'm a feline; I can smell his scent on you. Special mission? Top secret? Betrayal is what this is!"

I shook my head and decided to ignore the nonsensical accusations. "Go chase your tail, Meowth."

But James has paled considerably, and his face is changing colors, first white as a sheet, then as blue as his hair, and finally red with anger. If I didn't know better, I would say a human just learned how to use Rage. He clenched his teeth and tightened his fist around the pokeball containing Weezing. "How dare he steal Jessie from me?" He released Weezing from its pokeball and spoke in the most commanding, determined and angry tone I have ever heard James use. "Weezing, you and I are going to take out Giovanni on our own. If it gets too rough get out of there and take care of Jessie for me, I'll finish him off with my bare hands if I have to. I'll take on all his pokemon myself!"

"Have you both gone insane?" Honestly, I've always known James and Meowth would be lost without me, but I didn't think being gone for the majority of the day, from the morning until the evening, would affect them so much they would lose their minds.

"You're the one who betrayed us!" Meowth continued his accusations; then suddenly, he paused. "What did you say James? You're going to fight the boss? Are you crazy? It's not his fault; it's all because of Persian!"

"Persian? I don't know what part Persian had in this, but I can't let Giovanni steal my Jessie!" James persisted with his nonsense.

"Your Jessie?" I questioned, though my voice was ignored while James and Meowth continued their argument.

"Steal Jessie?" Meowth asked in confusion. "When did this happen? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You were the one who just told me!" James dramatized. "Didn't you just say that Jessie was with Giovanni, as in not just with him, but with him, because you smelled his scent on her?"

At that moment my cheeks started to turn red. I'm not sure if I'm blushing because of the misunderstanding, or more so because of James' reaction to it.

"Not the boss, Persian! She must have been petting him or something!" Meowth argued.

I cleared my throat and mentally willed my face to recover its normal color, though it was no use as it continued to match my hair. "Fine, I admit it, my so called secret mission was babysitting Persian. It's not that I volunteered or anything, Giovanni gave me the mission. Let me make something clear, I am not having an affair with the boss. He only needed me as a pokesitter, that's all."

James breathed in relief, "really?" I nodded and he happily called back Weezing to his pokeball.

I rolled my eyes, "do you think I would have such a small salary if I was going out with the boss?"

I wasn't serious, but James paled again. "You wouldn't do that, would you? I mean really, you don't like him, right? You wouldn't just go out with him for his fortune, right? I have money too, you know! All I have to do is reclaim it!"

"And marry Jessiebelle," Meowth reminded James.

Before any more weirdness was spoken, I raised my hand in a sign of silence. "I am not going out with Giovanni and that's all there is to it. Why would you care anyway?"

James blushes and fidgets uncomfortably. There is a moment of silence in which the tension hangs heavily in the air and then it all comes crashing down when Meowth spots a familiar Pikachu playing in the park. "He's here! Pikachu is here! Let's catch him!" Then life returned to normal, as if nothing ever happened.

xoxox xox xoxox

Stop C: Hotel Engagement

James pouted and gave me a sad look, like a baby Meowth in a snowy winter night seeking shelter. I really wish he would stop looking at me as if I slammed the door in the little Meowth's face and went off to kick baby Growlithe. "What's wrong with you?"

Team Rocket had blasted off again courtesy of Pikachu, but James didn't used to get this depressed about it. He sighs deeply and continues to give me that look. "Are you sure you didn't go out with him?"

I'm not sure if I should be hurt that I'm not trusted as much as I should be, feeling awkward because of James' insistence even if I thought life was back to normal when we went after Pikachu again, or if I should just take out my frustrations on James and get it over it. It is the last option that I opt for in my less than pleasant mood, but before I can say or do anything, an incriminating melody fills the air.

James continues to pout, glaring daggers in the direction of my ringing cell phone. I reached for the noisy device in my pocket and looked at the small screen, the word Boss was displayed on it. Any childish arguments James had in mind would have to wait, because, though there is nothing between me and Giovanni except work, it is because of that work that I must answer his call. "Hello?"

"Report to my office immediately," Giovanni hung up before I could reply.

Annoyed, I glared at the cell phone as I closed it and placed it back in my pocket. "I have to go to work."

"With him?" James and Meowth questioned at once, though I know they were referring to two different beings.

"Meowth, you're just going to have to get used to the fact that taking care of Persian is part of my job now." I know he's disappointed, he feels betrayed and replaced. "It's just a job," it's not like me, but the guilt is present and hurting.

"Fine, go take care of that spoiled pokemon. No one likes a freak anyway!" Meowth runs off on his own, at least maybe this way he'll take time to cool off.

"Are you abandoning us, going to the top and leaving us behind?" James asks.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's only a job. I'm not even getting a promotion for it," but I better be getting a bonus. After assuring James, I left to meet Giovanni.

xoxox xox xoxox

If I wasn't in Team Rocket, I should have dedicated my life to pokemon grooming, because I'm a great stylist. As I expected, the job Giovanni had for me involved Persian. The spoiled pokemon had taken a liking to me, which is far more than can be said for his previous pokesitters who ended up as human scratching posts.

However, it is not Giovanni's spoiled Persian that I'm currently grooming, but rather his fiance. I must make sure I refer to her as such, because I'm sure the boss would find the term 'future mate' to be too vulgar for a pokemon of Persian's caliber. Her name is Nya, a pampered pokemon of the same breed as her fiance, though her attitude is much better.

Judging by the quality of her shiny fur, the polished ruby on her forehead and the hint of expensive perfume, I can tell she's spoiled, but Nya isn't egotistical at all. She's friendly, obedient and hasn't given me any trouble at all; the only thing that's off is that she looks sad.

After a while of grooming Nya in a hotel room, the boss is really obsessed with his pet to even arrange a hotel room for this affair, Giovanni soon arrives with Persian. I feel like we're matchmakers.

Even if Nya isn't my pokemon, Giovanni is in a way Persian's paternal figure, thus pushing me into the position of being Nya's maternal figure. We're the parents arranging the marriage of our children. The groom will be happy with any pretty girl, but the bride is troubled.

Giovanni pets his Persian, kneeling next to the pokemon and whispering something in his ear, possibly a sort of father son pep talk, a little 'go get her tiger', or maybe even 'make me a grandpa'. I can't help it but to snicker at that last one. I have discovered a new side to Giovanni and I am very amused by it.

"Emergency! Emergency!" A maid comes rushing into the room out of breath. "You must evacuate at once. There's a" she gasps for air, "bomb!"

"A bomb?" Giovanni takes Persian into his arms, the spoiled pokemon is never kept in a pokeball, though I do know he has a golden pokeball decorated with diamonds and rubies, but I've only seen it once and Giovanni probably left it at home. I'm certain Persian, lazy but well trained and agile, can run by himself faster than Giovanni can run while carrying him, but the boss is feeling protective of his baby, possibly to balance out the fact that he's allowing Persian to befriend a female pokemon. "Jessie, get the girl and let's go. We'll find another place."

"Yes, sir!" It's been draining every ounce of will power I have not to laugh, despite the serious situation and the dangerous implications of laughing at my boss. I pick up the female Persian and rush after Giovanni.

The boss is a few steps ahead, running towards the elevator; doesn't he know you're supposed to take the stairs in emergencies? Speaking of stairs, the door leading to them opens and James stands there out of breath. "Jessie, think about what you're doing!"

"What I would like to know is what you're doing?" A suspicion forms in my mind and I'm almost certain that my guess is right. "You planted the bomb didn't you?"

Well, I was almost right. "There is no bomb, but I did send the threat," James admitted. "Meowth was passing by and saw you go into a hotel with Giovanni."

I blush scarlet, gently place Nya on the carpet covered floor and proceed to smack James over the head with all my might. But at the same time, I'm strangely happy that he went through all this trouble for me, even if it will most likely end up causing me a lot of trouble. Prepare for trouble and make it double indeed.

"I've been playing pokemon stylist this entire time, helping her," I point at Nya, "get ready for her date with Giovanni's Persian. The hotel room is for them."

James blinks, "oh... really?"

"Yes really!" I yell. "Do you have any idea how angry the boss will be if he finds out what you did?"

"The threat was anonymous and we kind of messed up the elevators so he might be trapped there for a while." James placed a hand behind his head and stared at his feet.

I slap my forehead, face, palm; "I can't believe this."

"Persian, per," Nya speaks in her pokemon talk that only Meowth understands. "Persian, persian, per per sian."

"She's saying it's best this way, because she doesn't want an arranged marriage, she wants to marry for love," Meowth translates.

Nya gasps in surprise, "persian!"

"Yeah, I can speak the language of humans," though this is an accomplishment to be proud of, Meowth looks embarrassed. "Go ahead and say it, I'm a freak."

"Persian!"

"Amazing? What do you mean amazing? Um, why are you looking at me like that?" In a split second, Meowth is tackled to the floor in a fan girl glomp.

"Aw, she likes you!" James sounds amused.

But I know how troublesome this could be. "She's Persian's fiance!"

Meowth squirms unable to escape from Nya. "I don't think Persians are my type. Really, you're a nice girl and all but I already have someone I like." It seems Meowth never completely moved on from Meowzie. But his protests are ignored as Nya continues her fan girl embrace. If the elevator opened up now and Giovanni and Persian came, we would be in big trouble.

xoxox xox xoxox

Stop D: A Fine Mess

This is a fine mess, a fine mess indeed. Let us recap shall we? James, Meowth, Giovanni, Persian, Nya and I, are currently at a hotel. Nya is a female Persian chosen by Giovanni to be his Persian's future wife, but she has fallen in love with Meowth instead. Due to his lingering crush on the female Meowth called Meowzie, he does not return Nya's feelings. Or maybe it's more so due to his dislike towards Persians in general, but the point is, the romance is one sided.

At this very moment, Giovanni is trapped along with his Persian in an elevator, believing that there is a bomb in this building that could blow up any second. The hotel staff has panicked and left, but it's only a matter of time before someone starts to wonder where Giovanni is and comes looking for him. Besides, the boss has his cell phone so he could be calling for help while I'm standing here trying to figure things out.

I take a deep breath, "James, this is all your fault!" What should be pure anger is mixed with a strange sense of pride because troublesome as this is, it was done for me. Besides, as a member of Team Rocket, former member of a bicycle gang and all around cool bad girl, I can appreciate a well done false bomb threat when I see one, and this one turned out nicely, save for the fact that I'm caught in the middle of the chaos.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you said you were not with Giovanni, but you kept meeting him alone and this time in a hotel instead of the office, and I didn't realize the hotel was for Persian, and Meowth said it was my own fault for not saying anything sooner and... and... and..." James trails off from panicked excuses to uncomfortable silence.

I breathe deeply again. "You have a lot of explaining to do," it seems I can't decide how to feel about this. First I noticed how much trouble James went through because of me, and now I feel like complaining about him not taking my word for it when I said I wasn't going out with Giovanni.

The echo of footsteps is heard coming from the stairs, followed by a familiar voice. "Hurry, the elevator is stuck in the tenth floor!" I pull James and Meowth out of he doorway leading to the stairs and close the door. Cassidy has arrived, possibly with Butch and other reinforcements, off to rescue Giovanni.

Cassidy is my natural enemy, James is having strange attacks of jealousy, though it's not like he's my boyfriend and this is something that makes me wonder about his feelings, but I don't need more complications right now, and finally Meowth has unwillingly stolen Nya's heart. So far everyone has been making things into a bigger mess, but I know I can't solve this alone.

"James, keep this door closed, don't let Cassidy and the others in here!" I command, "Meowth, I want you to take Nya back to the Rocket Headquarters."

"But," the male feline protests, though the female seems happy with the plan.

"Now!" I insist urgently.

Grumbling, and fighting for his personal space, Meowth leaves along with Nya. The footsteps behind the door come to a halt and the handle begins to turn, but James grabs it on time. "There's no lock," he whispers.

These are emergency stairs so of course there wouldn't be a lock. "Keep the door closed I'll go get something to hold it with," I whisper back.

When you're in trouble, your adrenaline goes wild and your strength increases. I've always been strong, but now I can lift furniture as if it's weightless and pile it up in front of the door with amazing speed. "Alright," I gasp for breath as all the exercise catches up to me at once, no doubt I'll feel very sore later because of this. "Let's save the boss and get out of here. If we rescue him we might escape suspicion," or James might escape suspicion, since I had no part in the entire bomb false alarm, but if he is suspected since we are on the same team I will inevitably be suspected. The two of us rush towards the elevator leaving Cassidy to bang on the door and scream her head off because it won't open.

"James, what exactly did you do to the elevators?" The buttons that are supposed to control the elevator are not responding at all. It cannot be opened, even from outside.

"There's a room in the basement with a computer that controls all the elevators," James explains.

"Then let's go there," I stop frozen in my tracks. "How in the world are we going to get there?" Cassidy is trapped in the stairs and those are the only stairs. There are more elevators, but they're all in the same malfunctioning conditions as the one Giovanni is trapped in.

"Um... Well... Maybe... A rope?" James scratches his head and stares at a spot in the carpet; someone must have spilled something there. There's a cart full of cleaning supplies near by, a maid must have been about to clean it when the news about the bomb spread all over the hotel. Why do I care about such useless details anyway?

"A rope," I repeat, raising my hand to smack James on the head for trapping us in the tenth floor, while the man who signs our paychecks is trapped in an elevator thinking that there's a bomb about to explode. But instead my hand reaches for a pokeball, grasping the sphere where Arbok resides. "Go Arbok!" I rush into one of the rooms and look out the window.

James and my pokemon follow me with confused expressions, "What are you going to do?"

"You are going down to the basement and fixing what you did to the computer that controls the elevators." I emphasize that it is James who will do this. "Arbok will work as a short rope to allow you to climb onto the window in the room below and repeat the process floor by floor," I explain my plan.

"But I don't know how to fix the computer. I bribed a geeky Team Rocket member who's good with computers into hacking it for me," James reveals.

"Why didn't you say so? Call the computer geek and fix this!" I yell exasperated.

James' expression tells me that the situation, which is already a fine mess, is about to get worse. "The deal was that he could leave after Giovanni was trapped to make sure he wasn't caught up in this."

Great just great, I growl in frustration sounding like an angry Electabuzz. The hired hacker is gone and the elevator controlling computer is probably too complicated for anyone who isn't an expert to use. "What a fine mess."

xoxox xox xoxox

Stop E: Mission Impossible

We're trapped in the tenth floor, the furniture piled up at the staircase door will only hold Cassidy back for so long, Giovanni is trapped in an elevator controlled by a computer in the basement that neither James nor I know how to operate, and Meowth has left to escort his fan girl to the nearest Rocket Headquarters.

I take a look out the window, no doubt Meowth and Nya must have climbed down from the side of the wall. The decorative carvings would provide enough of a gripping surface for a feline, but not enough for a human. However, with Arbok's help we should be able to escape. But the question still remains, how do we get the boss out? I don't want to leave the credit of saving him to Cassidy. "Think, think, there has to be a way out of this." Did I mention I'm frustrated?

James assumed a thinking pose, with one hand on his chin and the other on his elbow. "In action movies, there's always an emergency escape hatch on top of the elevator."

"The problem is that none of the elevator doors connected to the floors will open, so even if it s possible to get out of the elevator box, it's still a dead end." I begin to pace in circles. Cassidy must have come prepared to cut through the doors, and the noise of furniture being torn apart indicates that in the same way she can cut through that as well. "Cassidy," I rush over and close the door to the room James and I are in.

Footsteps are heard rushing past the door out in the hall. But the metal elevator doors won't be as easy to break as the wooden furniture. Wait, wood... isn't there always a door on top of these buildings leading to the elevator shaft? A wooden door on the roof, not quite as strong as the metal ones on the floors, since the elevator doesn't actually go to the rooftop anyway, the access door is only there for emergencies.

"I have a plan," I announce, and I better come along to make sure it works instead of just sending James. "We're going to the top; there are only twelve floors so it won't take too long. Arbok, lift me to the window of the next floor."

"Arbok!" The long pokemon goes over to the window and I hold on. He stretches his body as much as he can and I make the mistake of looking down. A large crowd has gathered and is being pushed back by a group of look-alike female police officers, possibly all named Jenny. The people in the crowd point up, yell and cheer, as if this was a circus show.

I manage to hold on to the edge of the window of the room above and open it. I enter the eleventh floor and breathe heavily. I have one more floor to go, but I'm feeling the effects of vertigo and don't want to go back outside.

"Arbok be careful!" I hear James calling, and rush over to steady Arbok who is also frightened. James climbs in a shudders admitting, "that was scary!"

"There's one more floor to go," I gulp and pet Arbok, "just one more floor," I'm not sure if I'm comforting Arbok or myself.

"I'll go by myself, this is my fault anyway," James offers.

But I shake my head, recovering my fiery temper, "there's no way I'm giving you all the credit!"

James smiles, as if hearing me talk the way he's used to restores his confidence. "Right, we'll save the boss together and get a raise!"

It's just like old times, we're cheering each other on and dreaming about a better pay. "Then let's go; there's no time to waste. But just in case, send Weezing back to slow Cassidy's team."

"Right!" James calls out Weezing. The pokemon can float so getting back to the tenth floor should be no problem for him. However, he can't carry either of us, we've tried that in the past and it only resulted in both James and Weezing plummeting back into the pitfall trap from where we were trying to escape. Weezing couldn't carry me either; the only one light enough was Meowth.

James repeats the plan for Weezing and the pokemon goes off to do his part, while we continue to climb on to the last floor. Once we're up, I recall Arbok into his pokeball and James and I proceed with the mission. "There should be some stairs that lead to the rooftop," stairs that are not connected to the main staircase and lead only from the twelfth floor to the rooftop. Finding them was easy enough and we climbed up to the roof.

"There it is!" James runs over to the elevator shaft door and tries to open it. "It's locked," this comes as no surprise, but this door isn't as strong as the double metal doors of the elevator so we should be able to break it down.

"On the count of three," James understands and gets into position. "One, two, three!" We dash at the door and collide against it. I feel a sharp pain on my shoulder and I'm sure it's the same for James. The door creaked but wasn't knocked down. "Again!" We hit it twice more and finally we break through, falling into the shaft.

We struggle to hold on to the elevator cables and with a lot of effort manage to save ourselves. "Jessie, are you alright?"

Given the situation and the fact that I'm sore all over, especially my shoulder, no, I am not alright. But none the less I still reply with a tired, "yeah."

I can hear the boss yelling, his strong voice echoing in the elevator shaft. "Imbeciles! Hurry up and open this elevator, there's a strange gas slipping inside. Do you hear me?" Good, it sounds like Weezing did his job very well, because Giovanni isn't getting a reply.

James and I climb down and hop onto the elevator. We lift the top hatch and look down at the boss, how we waited for this moment.

xoxox xox xoxox

Stop F: To The Rescue

"You two?" Giovanni is shocked and his surprised expression is wonderfully satisfying.

"Nya is waiting at headquarters, shall we go?" I feel like the heroine of an action movie who was underestimated by the secret organization's leader, but then by a twist of fate, ends up saving his life. Actually that's exactly what I am, except Giovanni isn't in any real danger, he only thinks he is.

Giovanni's expression changes to an angered look. It's as if his ego has been broken by being rescued by us, one who is only good at babysitting, and another who is not good at anything, I'm sure that's how he sees us, or how he used to see us. "Let's get out of here quick." Giovanni lifts Persian, helping him reach the escape hatch and I take the feline and place him on top of the elevator.

Then it's up to James and me to grab Giovanni's hands and pull him up. My sore shoulder protests in the form of pain, and my back isn't too happy about it either. I can see James' face turning red from the effort and I'm sure mine is too. Let's just say that our boss isn't light. He is not fat, but he is tall, taller than James, and according to Meowth well built, don't ask me how he knows, the point is the muscle is heavier than fat.

Finally out of the elevator, Giovanni takes a moment to look up at the cables. He looks displeased; leave it to the boss to be picky and critical of his rescue. James and I are still trying to recover when Persian starts climbing up the elevator cables with his graceful feline skill, heading towards the light of the emergency escape in the rooftop.

Giovanni glances at me, then at James, as if waiting for us to say we have a plan. When neither of us responds, he looks up at Persian. "Persian!" The pokemon calls, as if telling his master to suck it up and start climbing.

Grumbling something under his breath that I don't quite catch, Giovanni starts climbing. He's more agile than I thought, but if he can climb this easily, then why all those silent complaints? I guess he's just spoiled, like his Persian. James and I follow up the elevator cables until we finally reach the rooftop. Weezing is there waiting for James who recalls the pokemon into his pokeball. Giovanni pays that detail no mind.

There are two helicopters circling the area. They both appear to belong to news crews, but one of them approaches and I realize that this is one of Giovanni's helicopters disguised as a news chopper. The helicopter lands on the roof; Giovanni, Persian, James and I hop aboard and we're off.

"Headquarters, yo?" The pilot asks; his hair is so much like mine that for a moment I wonder if I've stumbled upon a long lost cousin. Then realize he's not long lost at all, he simply lives in a far away region and works for another organization that is Team Rocket's ally, Shinra or something. I wonder why he's here.

"I'm sure we were caught on camera by the other helicopter." Giovanni glances at James and me; we're wearing our usual Team Rocket uniforms. "They might link me to Team Rocket..."

For a moment I fear that this will blow up in our faces and that we'll get fired for our little rescue mission because we were not discrete enough. But then James suggests, "you could pretend to be kidnapped and take a vacation."

Giovanni's expression lightens and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "Yes, I'll call up the public relations manager and have him handle this."

xoxox xox xoxox

A few hours have passed since we arrived at headquarters. Meowth ran to us desperately asking where we were and why we took so long. He was followed by Nya, who wouldn't stop stalking him.

When Giovanni saw Nya, she was as much of a mess as Meowth, if not more. Meowth had apparently taken the hardest possible path towards the base in hopes of losing Nya, that left him dirty and muddy, but he didn't lose the stalker. However, Nya is agile as it naturally comes to a feline, but she is inexperienced in hiking, thus she ended up in worse conditions, covered in mud and dirt, a few muddy leaves sticking to her.

Giovanni looked horrified when he saw her. "This girl is not good enough for Persian. Send her away." With Nya gone, taking away in a pokeball by a Rocket grunt, Meowth was finally safe from his stalker, but I could tell that the disapproving look Giovanni gave him had hurt.

"I never win," Meowth muttered in sadness, as the boss walked away.

"It's okay Meowth, we saved the boss, maybe he'll give us a reward now," I tried to cheer him up. "You really need a bath by the way."

Meowth gasps, he's not too fond of water, but when he looks at his messy fur he sighs, "I know" and practically drags himself towards one of the bathrooms.

"How much of a raise do you think the boss will give us?" James sounds excited.

"I don't know but I hope it's big!" Even if all of this started as a disaster, it looks like it's going to end well after all.

xoxox xox xoxox

Stop G: Vacation

The media believes that the noble Viridian City gym leader is being held hostage by the terrible Team Rocket. Gifts are piling up at the gym's doors, as people prepare to console Giovanni upon his safe return, because it's unconceivable that he would not return safely. The police are working to track down Team Rocket's hide out and rescue Giovanni, who unknown to them is actually the leader of Team Rocket. It seems that every Jenny is looking for him, which leaves pokemon trainers unprotected with the police being so busy.

This is a great time to steal pokemon, but James, Meowth and I are on vacation, so we won't even think about that. Well, Meowth still thinks about it, he's really eager to become Giovanni's favorite and doesn't want to stop his climb to the top. But we're on vacation, in fact, I know all of this because I stopped to look at the television playing in the hotel lobby in Cinnabar Island.

As soon as the bellhop takes our luggage and shows us to our rooms, I quickly forget about the report and once again focus on our vacation. Meowth is trying to be cool by using pay day to tip the bellhop, thinking that our promotion has automatically made him rich and skilled. Meowth failed miserably, but James took pity on him and tossed some coins at the bellhop, hitting the poor boy on the face. Normally I would get annoyed at their shenanigans, but I'm in too much of a good mood, so I'm just amused. Never mind that we'll be broke after splurging our bonus like that.

Pretty soon we make our way to the beach and relax. If I'm ever going to ask James why he got so jealous when he thought I was dating Giovanni, this would be a good time to have him clarify his feelings. The sun is shining, the waves are gently washing over the shore, a soft breeze blows and everything is perfect. Until a huge wave crashes against the beach and Butch and Cassidy emerge from their submarine-tank hybrid reciting their version of the Team Rocket motto.

I'm covered in salty water and my vacation is interrupted, not to mention that I was about to ask James about his feelings, and now I'm not in the mood anymore. "Arbok!" My and James' pokemon have been building sand castles along with Meowth. "Squeeze the life out of her!" I growl, and Arbok springs into action wrapping around Cassidy.

"Traitor!" Cassidy gasps, while Butch tries to free her. Unable to do so, he settles for calling out a Drowsy, which ends up becoming Meowth's scratching post before given the chance to attack. I guess all Meowth really needed was some confidence and motivation.

"Let's go Weezing, they won't know what hit them." James clearly hints that he wants some cover, but it may not be so easy for the enemy to realize this if he doesn't shout out the command. I realize that we're much better trainers than we're given credit for. Weezing understands and covers the area were our rivals are in smoke. James takes a deep breath of fresh air before he sneaks in, while Meowth and Arbok return to my side.

"What is he doing?" I wonder as I hear the sound of building electricity. James returns to my side as well, the smoke clears up and the submarine-tank explodes, sending Cassidy and Butch to blast off again.

"I pushed all the buttons at once," James proudly declares.

"Nice job," I smile and give him a well deserved pat on the back.

Now that the entire misunderstanding with Giovanni is clear, he hasn't brought it up. "James, I've been meaning to ask you something about how you... well... how do you feel about me?"

James blushes and looks away. "What do you mean?"

"Oh for crying out loud," Meowth pouts and waves his arms impatiently, "just admit you like her already, you were totally obvious about it before!"

"Shut up!" James glares at Meowth. I look at James anxiously, then calm down and smile, let him take his time.

End of Journey 01

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. There's a small reference to Reno from Final Fantasy VII. Stop B of Journey 01 was inspired by a review from Azure.

xoxox xoxo xoxox

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	2. Team Chiray

Endless

Journey 02: Team Chiray

(The story of a rescue team composed of a Butterfree, her adoptive sister Pikachu who likes a Charmander with dreams to fly as a Charizard, and a young Eevee they take care of.)

Pikachu sighed in frustration, Eevee had run off again. "Eevee!" No reply came. "Eevee!" Pikachu was beginning to get desperate. 'Calm down,' she told herself. 'I'm sure Eevee is near by.' She was trying to keep herself from panicking over the younger pokemon's safety when she heard a cry for help. She rushed in that direction, running deeper into the forest. The forest was dark and the weather unstable. It began to rain without warning and soon after the water started to fall from the skies, upset howls were heard.

Eevee called for help again, less frightened now, as if he had seen a ray of hope in whatever harsh situation he was in. Pikachu found the child surrounded by an unfriendly group of Arcanine. She jumped towards the group, releasing her powerful thunderbolt attack that knocked out the three Arcanine. The special band she wore gave her extra power in her electric attacks. "Eevee, are you okay?"

"Yes, that was scary. The rain was lucky," Eevee replied.

"You can't always rely on luck. Let's head back." Pikachu and Eevee continued their trip out of the forest. 'Next time I'll stick to taking him to train at the dojo,' Pikachu thought. At least Eevee would be safe there.

The irregular weather took a turn for the worse when the rain turned to hail. Eevee was protected by his weather band, but Pikachu still felt the effects of the hail falling on her head.

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A lot of walking and one oran berry later, they finally made it out of the forest and back to their team base.

"How did it go?" Charmander, smiled amused at Pikachu's expression. Pikachu decided not to answer.

"It was fun!" Eevee cheered with delight. "Some Arcanine surrounded me, but it started raining and that's good, because they wanted to breathe fire on me, but the rain made them weaker. Then Pikachu came and used the thunder um... thunder thing."

"Bolt," Charmander finished for him.

"Yes, thunderbolt and knocked them all out, all three of them it was cool!" Eevee finished his narration.

"He ran off on his own," Pikachu shook the rain off her light yellow fur and curled into a ball in the corner.

"You know you shouldn't do that," Charmander petted Eevee's head.

"I know, but it's okay because Pikachu saved me." Eevee had that cute look of admiration like he always did.

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Outside the light rain stopped. The hail did not reach outside of the forest. "I want to go play at the pond!" Without waiting for a reply, Eevee ran off.

"Remind me of when and why we became his babysitters?" Pikachu was displeased.

Charmander laughed in good humor. "He's an orphan and you thought he was cute and that we should let him join our team, that's how we ended up adopting him. Remember when he called you Pika-mama and he would call me Char-papa? He would call Butterfree aunty Butter."

"I'm not the kid's mother. I was thinking something along the lines of mascot when I said he could join. He's harder to protect than that Bulbasaur we had to escort to the top of Mt. Blaze. At least he paid a good price for it." Pikachu was clearly not in the best of moods.

Charmander shook his head. "Somebody had a rough day. You used to think all that was cute."

"I'm tired," Pikachu growled.

"Yeah, you should get some rest," Charmander wisely backed off.

The light yellow Pikachu gave him a curious look. "What is it?"

"You can always tell when there's something on my mind," Charmander admitted. They were close friends and noticed even the smallest differences in the other's behavior. "I've been thinking about evolution."

Pikachu immediately sat up. "You mean philosophical thoughts about evolution in general or that you've been thinking about evolving?" She hoped it wasn't the second.

Charmander knew Pikachu wouldn't like the idea. She herself had decided that she had evolved enough and would stay as Pikachu. "I want to be a Charizard. I've been thinking about it a lot."

"First you have to be Charmeleon," Pikachu knew her argument was going nowhere; it was just to fill the silence while she thought of a way to talk him out of it. Charmander was the one who got her to start a rescue team with him and she knew how powerful he could be. He was probably ready to evolve into Charmeleon and then into Charizard soon after. He was just holding back, and even if she felt guilty about it, she didn't want him to stop holding back; she wanted him to realize he was contempt with what he had and stop thinking about evolving.

"Evolution could be a good thing," Charmander wasn't sure what to say to convince Pikachu to be okay with it.

"So I shouldn't stay as Pikachu? Too bad because I'm not changing." Her electric temper started to surface as sparks formed on her pink cheeks.

Charmander instinctively took another step back. "I'm not saying you should change, I'm saying I need to change."

"Need to? I needed to change when I was Pichu because I shocked myself whenever I used electricity. Do you burn yourself now? Are you not happy? Does our team not have a good enough rank?" Pikachu argued.

Charmander shook his head. She could be so impossible some times. "Charizard can fly." That was his main reason for wanting to evolve, to soar up in the skies. He had always admired how Charizard looked when they flew and wished he could do it too.

"Fine," Pikachu curled into a ball again, this time facing the wall. She knew she couldn't keep talking him out of this.

"Is that a yes?" Charmander asked. "We'll still be best friends. I'll even give you a ride up in the clouds."

"Hopefully you'll still fit in the door," Pikachu replied coldly.

Charmander sighed. That was Pikachu, stubborn to the end. He thoughtfully looked towards the doorframe. He would have to remember to duck when entering when he became Charizard. He headed off to Luminous Cave.

xoxox xox xoxox

Upon his arrival Charmander found Eevee splashing around and annoying the other pokemon. "Eevee!"

Eevee could tell by Charmander's tone of voice and the flames that threatened to escape from his mouth, that he did not approve of this behavior. The little pokemon looked sad, "I'm sorry." He was too cute to stay mad at and he knew it.

"Don't do that again," Charmander tried to sound serious, but he couldn't help it but to pet the smaller pokemon's head and smile. Eevee also smiled and continued playing as energetic as ever. Charmander breathed deeply and entered the cave. He would come out as a new pokemon.

xoxox xox xoxox

Pikachu sat near the cliffs looking into the distance when Butterfree landed near by, "Pikachu."

The light yellow pokemon snapped out of her daze. "Butterfree, I didn't hear you coming."

"You appeared to be lost in thought. What's up?" Butterfree asked.

"Charmander wants to evolve and I couldn't talk him out of it this time," Pikachu frowned.

"Is it that bad?" Butterfree had received Pikachu's full support and encouragement during her evolution.

"He won't stop at Charmeleon. He wants to become Charizard. We'll be even more different then. It's not that I'm against evolution. When I was Pichu, I could think of nothing more. I just can't imagine going on missions with a big Charizard instead of Charmander or even Charmeleon," Pikachu explained.

"Wouldn't you just love a big strong handsome Charizard? He could even fly you around. You can ride him and come to the skies with me." Butterfree tried to be optimistic.

"So you can say you're just flying around with friends and stalk that Venomoth you like?" Pikachu mischievously inquired.

"Maybe," Butterfree looked away. Pikachu could have sworn she saw her blush. Although she was a Butterfree she had grown up with a family of Pikachu. Later, she and Pikachu traveled far away, catching a ride from a friendly Lapras. They met a Charmander who wanted to start a rescue team and the three of them became the first official members.

"I don't know what will happen, but it doesn't matter. I'm here for the rescue team and regardless of what Charmander, or Charmeleon, does, I'll keep going on missions." Pikachu assured.

Butterfree wasn't sure what to say to that. "You'll get used to the change, it won't be so bad." Pikachu remained quiet.

"Pikachu, Butterfree!" A familiar voice called. Both girls turned to look and saw an unfamiliar pokemon. "What do you think? Awesome, right? I just came back from Luminous Cave!" Charmeleon had evolved from Charmander.

"We're going to play," Eevee reminded him impatiently.

"Yes, I told Eevee I would take him to the plains to play. Why don't we all go?" Charmeleon kept looking at Pikachu, wondering if she was angry at him. He always tried to think of a possible reason for her not wanting him to evolve, but always came up empty.

"Sounds fun, right Pikachu?" Butterfree encouraged.

"Alright, let's go," Pikachu didn't sound too eager.

xoxox xox xoxox

Eevee was the first to arrive at the plains south of their base, not that it was too far anyway. There he spotted a Rattata. "You're a Rattata, right?"

"Yup, and you're kind of small for a Flareon," Rattata looked at him curiously.

"I'm still an Eevee, but one day, I'll be... I don't know; I'm not sure what I want to evolve into."

"You still have time to think," Rattata replied.

"Eevee you should wait up, it's not nice to run ahead like that," Butterfree was the next to arrive. Eevee was certainly energetic. She had to make sure he never got his paws on her stamina band or that may make him even more hyper.

Changing the subject with the most adorable expression, Eevee announced, "I made a new friend!"

Butterfree looked towards the young Rattata, who appeared to be quite happy that Eevee had called her his friend. "It's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Rattata smiled.

"Hey Rattata let's play tag, I'll even volunteer to be it first," Eevee offered.

Rattata's face lit up with joy. "Really? Okay then, you're it!" The two younger pokemon ran off to play.

xoxox xox xoxox

Charmeleon and Pikachu were still making their way to the plains and Pikachu was walking quite slowly. "C'mon Pikachu, I'm sure Eevee and Butterfree are already there," Charmeleon called. Pikachu ignored him and continued at her uncharacteristically slow pace. "Are you mad at me?" He slowed down to walk beside her and she simply looked away.

'Get used to not liking him,' Pikachu told herself. 'He'll be so different, there's no way it'll work out, so get used to it.'

"Why won't you even look at me? Am I that hideous as a Charmeleon? Pikachu!" He stood in front of her, blocking her path until she looked up.

He was still handsome in her eyes, maybe even more so as a Charmeleon. She had always been a bit taller, more so if you count the ears. Now she had to get used to looking up at his face, since he had grown a few inches taller than her. His eyes appeared to be a deeper shade of blue, but they still held the same glow. It was like Pikachu had gone away on vacation and returned to find her childhood crush had grown up, but he was still the same on the inside, still charming. If her cheeks were not already pink, they would have turned pink.

He smiled seeing that at least she stopped refusing to look at him. "C'mon, let's not leave them waiting," Pikachu nodded and followed Charmeleon to the plains where they watched the younger Pokemon play and enjoyed the peace of the afternoon.

"Charmeleon, why is it that you want to fly?" Pikachu asked.

"I thought it would be cool, don't you think so? When I'm a Charizard I can give you a ride," Charmeleon replied.

"I don't want one," Pikachu pouted, crossed her arms and looked away.

"But I thought you liked flying. When ever a flying pokemon big enough to carry others comes to the village and offers us rides, you're always the first in line," Charmeleon reminded her.

"Raichu aren't that big, even if I evolved, we'd be so different," Pikachu revealed her true worries.

"We're already different; you're a super powerful Pikachu and I'm just an average Charmeleon. You can even keep up with highly evolved pokemon. You're always the strongest on the team and you've won at all the trainings in the dojo. I always fail at the water dojo because I'm a fire type, but you were even able to beat a Rhyhorn the other day without using electricity. I couldn't have won against him, even with fire. I just wanted to give you something to be happy about... Forget it, I'm rambling," Charmeleon looked sad.

Pikachu got up and walked away. "I'm going for a walk, see you later."

After Pikachu left, Butterfree landed near Charmeleon. "Not that I was eavesdropping or anything, I just overheard. Why don't you simply tell her how you feel instead of settling for having an excuse to be near her? Isn't that what you were trying to do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Charmeleon denied.

"I think you do, just because you're already too red to blush doesn't mean you can hide it," Butterfree insisted.

"Fine, I admit it. I know that one day she'll find someone she likes. They all like her because she's powerful, but I'm not convinced they appreciate her enough. It's okay as long as she's happy, I guess; I just want to be there too. That's why if I can fly, I'll have an excuse to keep her to myself, even if it's just for a little while, up in the sky. That's my only reason to evolve," Charmeleon revealed.

"Who are you talking about?" A familiar voice asked.

Charmeleon slowly turned around to find Pikachu right behind him. "You're back!" Charmeleon had confessed by accident.

"I was only going for a short walk, so who is it? Who do you like? Anyone I know?" Pikachu insisted on her question. She couldn't believe what she heard until she heard it directly and beyond a doubt.

Unsure, Charmeleon looked to Butterfree who nodded reassuring, then he looked at Pikachu, "you."

End of Journey 02

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. "Chiray" means "Ray of Energy". 


	3. Preparations

Preparations

"Unova!" The loud voice disturbed all of the Viridian Rocket base infirmary's patients.

"With how excited you are, anyone would guess you're the one who's going." Comet voiced, watching as Laiki started to hand out the plastic plates and spoons, ready to cut the cakes. Peachy had a whole cake to herself, since she was such an adorable little glutton.

"I do wish I could go, I heard Unova men are quite handsome." Laiki grinned mischievously, possibly imagining a hot fling she would have if she were there. "You two better bring me a souvenir!"

"It would be a bit troublesome if we kidnapped someone." Pixel teased, knowing full well that by souvenir, Laiki was wishing for the delivery of a gift wrapped handsome man.

"Oh fine, something expensive and not living will have to do," Laiki conceded. "After all, I'm taking care of dropping off your pokemon at that resort you booked for them."

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After Comet and Pixel left for Unova, Laiki set off to deliver their pokemon to the Valhalla Pokemon Resort, where they would vacation while their trainers blended in on a secret mission in the distant region. It was because of that secrecy that pokemon not native to the region could not be present along with the Rockets. "Here we are," Laiki got off the car that she didn't remember which past boyfriend she had stolen it from. It didn't matter, she dumped him anyway. The smaller pokemon such as Purry, Peachy and Meteor were riding in the bright yellow car with her, while the larger ones were transported in their pokeballs.

The pokemon resort was quite large and expensive looking. It was a place that stroke Laiki as being odd in the sense that humans served pokemon instead of the other way around. She entered the large gates behind the tall brick fence that encompassed a considerably large terrain. The glimpses at the amusement park style attractions she saw beyond the elegant reception building fashioned as a medieval castle, looked quite amusing indeed, but they were open only to pokemon. The roller coasters and variety of rides were available in various sizes to accommodate all types of pokemon comfortably.

"This place looks pricey," Laiki whistled.

"I'm sure it is not that way for Lord and Lady Ragnarok," Laiki was caught by surprise and turned quickly, retrieving her gun from its holster strapped to her leg under her showy maid outfit.

Realizing what she had done, the undercover Rocket laughed sweetly as the employee who had greeted her, wearing a tuxedo with the resort's insignia, turned pale in shock, his golden eyes wide. "My deepest apologies for that; I'm not only a maid for the honorable Lord and Lady Ragnarok, but also part of their security personnel." She put away her gun as if she was never an inch away from shooting someone a second ago.

"Ah yes, I understand," the employee, straightened his stance and brushed the non-existent dirt off his uniform in an automatic motion.

Laiki observed the insignia on the left side of his tuxedo, it was a Mew encased in a circle formed by its tail, its fur a shade of light blue. It was the symbol of the resort as if to say the place was good enough for a Mew, should anyone ever decide to bring one over, not that they expected something like that to actually happen. "You work here," she stated, "so this means I can leave the Ragnarok pokemon with you? How did you know it was us, anyway?"

"Of course it had to be the Ragnarok pokemon, their fine pedigree precedes them," the employee complimented hypocritically as he had been trained to do. "Plus, what else could the red R in the collars around their necks signify, if not the fact that they are members of the proud Ragnarok family."

Laiki grinned, "of course." She would have loved to be there when Comet and Pixel came to make the reservation playing the part of a snobbish young couple of millionaires, who had supposedly just inherited the Ragnarok fortune; a fortune which was in fact only a product of their imagination along with their fictional family history.

The collars with the red Rs were a parting gift from Comet and Pixel to their pokemon. A way to let them know they were still a team that would one day be reunited when the business in Unova had been properly taken care of. All of Comet and Pixel's pokemon had those collars symbolizing Team Rocket, but to the Valhalla Pokemon Resort staff, it was a symbol to identify them as being better than other pokemon because they belonged to the rich Ragnarok family.

Laiki followed the employee, musing about how a single strand of platinum hair standing out of place on his otherwise perfectly brushed head reminded her of someone. She couldn't precise who, possibly a past boyfriend. After the pokemon were checked in as per the previous arrangement with Lord and Lady Ragnarok, Laiki took care of her own agenda. "So..." she looked at the name tag on the right side of his tuxedo opposite to the blue Mew insignia, "Odin, when do you get off work?" She winked.

xoxox xox xoxox

Sometime later, after the Unova mission's conclusion... "Excuse me Sir and Madame, a bill has arrived which requires a signature." The family's long time butler approached the couple with a piece of paper and a golden pen, both items placed upon a silver platter. The bill represented quite a steep charge with a multitude of digits, thanks to all the chaos destruction the feisty Ragnarok pokemon caused at the Valhalla Pokemon Resort. "Curiously, the bill is-"

"A bill is a bill, just something to sign and forget about. It does not matter, do not fret over it." The husband took the pen and signed the bill without a second thought, not realizing that though it requested permission to draw the payment from his bank account number, it was for the purpose of paying the expenses inquired by a Mr. and Mrs. Ragnarok that he had never heard of. Once again, he joined his wife in the quaint little table with the luxurious tea set, drinking fancy tea that tasted terrible, but gave them an air of grandeur due to its expense. "As I was saying, my dear, I do wonder where that delinquent son of ours might be."

"I cannot imagine," the wife replied after taking a sip of her tea with her pinky finger properly raised as she delicately held her cup. "Our mischievous little James could be anywhere, perhaps even in a distant city across the ocean..."

xoxox xox xoxox

Back in the present, far away from Kanto, in a region known by the name of Unova... "They sure do love bridges in this place." Comet observed, "Not that I'm complaining, bridges provide a nice shaded place to hide out." Comet and Pixel were currently taking a lunch break after a long day of traveling, before it was time to move on to their special mission.

"The pizza here is really good too," Pixel happily took another bite of her pizza slice. "Tepig and Pinap, yum!"

"And the cheeseburgers are good too, even if I can't taste much of a difference between Taurus and Bouffalant," Comet observed.

"I'm going to have a look around, since I won't have time to do much running around once the mission gets to its next stage, and I still don't have a pokemon." Pixel started up the hill towards the top of the bridge. "I'll have dessert later, don't you dare open my box of mint filling gourmet chocolates in my absence."

"A thief who steals from a thief..." Comet grinned mischievously, but stopped, seeing Pixel's rare sadistic expression. "I think Peachy rubbed off on you. Anyway, I need to go pokemon hunting too, it'll be interesting to catch a pokemon without having one of my own," Comet mused. There was a moment of silence as their eyes met in the form of a challenge, then Pixel took off in a run. "You sure you want to fight off a ferocious Unova Pokemon alone?"

"You sure you want to try to interfere?" Pixel called back from several feet away above the hill.

"I would rather not get in the way of your sadistic moments." Comet admitted as he watched Pixel disappear from his line of sight, her footsteps passing over the bridge above.

xoxox xox xoxox

A relatively short distance away from the Skyarrow Bridge, which was the unspoken rendezvous point for Comet and Pixel, the blue haired girl approached a group of Pokemon just off the road near Route Three. She had taken a brief look at some Unova pokemon information and identified the black and white Ponyta style creatures as being Blitzle. "An electric type, just what I need."

Pixel considered her options, though she took some basic training as part of being a Rocket, her primary function was that of a hacker, thus she wasn't as well trained for the front lines as Comet, but she was determined to catch a pokemon on her own. At her disposal she had empty pokeballs, a vital tool for her current objective and no real weaponry unless she counted her gloves and boots for punching and kicking. The smoke bomb she also carried on her belt wasn't exactly a weapon, but it could be useful nonetheless.

The gloves had a metal strip atop the knuckles to serve as a sort of ground similar to the concept of an electric rod, complimenting the resistance against electricity of the material in case she had to deal with overloaded equipment or emergency hardware modifications. Similarly, the boots were a matching set with metal tips over noiseless electricity resistant soles and material, good for sneaking around unnoticed and to serve as an additional form of protection to electric charges.

"Prepare to be captured!" Pixel charged at the nearest Blitzle, a female who gave the unusual human an odd look before unleashing a blast of electricity in the form of a Discharge attack. The electricity was attracted to the specially designed gloves and boots and was not enough to stop Pixel's rampage as she got close enough to the wild pokemon to kick.

Taken by surprise, the Blitzle took the hit directly and stumbled back in shock. Upset at the human who had come to disturb the peace, she called for help and the cries were heard by the leader of their little group, a male of a similar structure as the others, but identifiable as being the evolved form of their species, Zebstrika. The creature let out a stronger Discharge attack, making Pixel cringe in spite of her protective gear.

"Not bad, maybe I should catch you instead." The surrounding Blitzle backed off to leave room for a duel between the invading human and their fearless leader. The angry Zebstrika dashed forward in a Wild Charge attack that Pixel knew she better get out of the way. She threw the smoke bomb down and ran for her life.

When the smoke cleared, the confused pokemon looked around for the human who seemed to have vanished into thin air. Up on a tree, Pixel sat on a branch thankful that she was able to get up there. At least the pokemon wouldn't be able to trample her if she wasn't on the ground, but she was still kind of trapped. What could she do next? Watch for an opportunity to sneak away and retreat? Never! Rockets don't retreat! Maybe she could tire out that Zebstrika somehow.

"Hey Zebstrika! I'm up here! Come and get me you coward!" Pixel let her legs hand off the branch, sitting on it as if riding a Ponyta. The Zebstrika took the bait and angrily stomped over, showing off for the group of Blitzle. He let out an angry Shockwave, followed by another Discharge, but the electricity seemed to be lost on Pixel's boots. "Nice try," she mocked.

Zebstrika rammed into the tree repeatedly in frustration. All the shaking made the branch Pixel was on finally break under her weight and the Rocket hacker plummeted to the pokemon below.

Landing on Zebstrika with a pained "owff," Pixel scrambled to hold on as the pokemon recovered from the fallen branch that landed on his head and tried to throw her off. Since his electric attacks were ineffective before and he was getting tired, Zebstrika focused his remaining energy in jumping around to throw the girl off his back like something out of a Taurus and Bouffalant rodeo contest.

Pixel held on as tightly as she could, putting every ounce of strength provided by her state of high adrenaline into her grip. Her eyes were closed for the most part, until she noticed that her wild ride was slowing down. Finally, the defeated Zebstrika fell over with a somewhat blueish hue on his face. It was then that Pixel noticed she was holding on so tightly, she was strangling the creature. "I win!" She hopped off the exhausted pokemon and threw a pokeball at him, capturing him with ease.

The remaining group of Blitzle had surrounded the combatants watching with great expectation. They stared at Pixel with unreadable expressions for a moment as she faced them. 'I'm in trouble...' she thought for a second, there was no way she could defend against such numbers, there must have been about a dozen Blitzle. Like a Rocket, she glared defiantly as if she was in possession of some kind of amazing deadly weapon the likes of which her enemies could not even begin to comprehend. Then the Blitzle stampeded away frightened by the defeat of their now ex-leader. Pixel grinned and contemplated the pokeball in her hand, mission accomplished.

xoxox xox xoxox

After Pixel's departure, Comet was taking his sweet time finishing his meal, when an unexpected creature appeared in the area. A pokemon identifiable as a Krookodile seemed to be sniffing around the water's edge possibly in hopes of sinking its teeth into one of those Luvdisc look-alikes, Alomomola. He seemed to pick up a more interesting scent originating from the bags of food near Comet in a comfortably shaded spot at the water's edge under Skyarrow Bridge. It looked like the perfect picnic to steal; it was occasions like this which made him leave his desert home to venture into areas closer to the human populations.

Confidently, Krookodile stomped his way over to the red haired human and stood imposing, waiting for him to run away in terror and leave his food behind. The pokemon was disappointed when instead he received a solid hit right in the nose from a pokeball that bounced off back into the hand of the thrower, its red beam fading before it could begin to form. "I guess I'll have to rough you up before I catch you, it wouldn't be any good to catch you if you were so easily caught anyway."

This human was challenging him? The nerve! Stomping his feet and growling loudly, Krookodile waited for the human to toss out a pokeball that wasn't empty. He was hoping for a delicious Pidove to sink his teeth into, but nothing came. Instead the human took a fighting stance as if he meant to battle himself. Krookodile huffed in indignation until his sore nose was further abused by a punch to the face, which made him stumbled back.

With a low angry growl, Krookodile went on the attack with Bite. Comet ducked out of the way avoiding decapitation by a hair. "Your breath smells like Rattata road kill, or is it Minccino?" Needless to say, Comet's commentary was not welcomed by the already angry Krookodile, who stomped around enraged.

Krookodile's claws ripped off the patches of grass that grew on the edge of the land beyond the sidewalk near the bridge above, gaining access to the dirt below and lifting it in a thicker version of a Sand Tomb attack. His odd stomping dance continued towards the edge of the water where the dirt he dug out with his claws mixed with the liquid and turned into a Mud Slap attack.

After making a big mess, Krookodile stopped and observed his handy work. An angry looking filthy human stood glaring daggers at him, covered in dirt and mud. "Now you're going to get it!" Before Krookodile could react, Comet launched at him in an all out fury of hits, narrowly avoiding the deadly jaws on several occasions.

"Had enough?" Comet questioned nearly out of breath a while later, his clothes ripped and his whole body covered in dirt and mud. Krookodile growled defiantly, he wasn't going to let a human beat him. The large beast once again went on the attack, his powerful jaws literally trying to bite Comet's head off.

Comet dodged once more and with everything he had, he tackled his opponent into the water near by. Tired from the battle and exposed to his weakness to the water element, Krookodile finally had enough and could no longer fight back. At last victorious, Comet tossed a pokeball at the Krookodile, which he captured. "That was quite a workout..."

Examining his muddy state, Comet thought he should rid himself of the dirty civilian clothes and get cleaned up in the water under the bridge before changing into his Rocket uniform. Pixel should be back soon, as they would need to be on their way to finish the last preparations of their coming mission. He let Krookodile out again for a while to try to get to know the pokemon as well as he could in the short time available in hopes of being able to better guide him in battle.

Comet picked up Pixel's priced box of mint filling gourmet chocolates. She told him not to touch them, but he had a good reason. The strong scent of mint invaded Comet's senses as he opened the box, the aroma catching the attention of Krookodile as well, who thought that maybe getting caught wasn't so bad if he was well fed. "Try some of this." Comet tossed a chocolate at Krookodile, which he happily ate.

The large pokemon opened his mouth wide and for a moment Comet thought he was on the attack again, but Krookodile stayed still with his expectant jaws apart. As if to emphasize his request, Krookodile pointed to his open mouth.

"Okay, one more, but that's it, or you won't be the only one trying to bite my head off today." Krookodile accepted the next chocolate and in a sudden motion snatched away the box, devouring the rest of the chocolates box and all. "No! You're almost as gluttonous as Peachy." Then again, almost really did make a difference.

Comet could imagine Krookodile trying to steal Peachy's food. Then Peachy would go all out with her electric attacks in an attempt to cook Krookodile and devour him in revenge. Purry did try to force Comet to eat Shenron that one time, maybe that's what they meant when they said Team Rocket could have an eat or be eaten atmosphere.

"I guess I'll have to figure out a way to earn Pix's mercy when she gets back." Guessing that he would have a better chance of that if he was clean, Comet followed through with his plans to get cleaned up and changed before Pixel got there, with the exception of the fact that he didn't have enough time.

Comet was in the middle of swimming under the bridge when Pixel returned. "I do hope you're not skinny dipping," she joked, though it was obvious he wasn't as the waters were clear.

Comet chuckled, "you wish."

After a moment's pause during which her eyes scanned the area and took in the presence of a Krookodile lounging under the bridge's shade, she inquired. "Are my chocolates safe?" She searched for them among their things but didn't find them. "Comet..."

"Well... you see... Krookodile really needed a breath mint and since the chocolates had a mint filling..." Comet began to explain, giving Pixel his most convincing look of innocence and a radiant smile, which could work wonders on anyone but Pixel and her stubborn resolution not to be influenced.

"You caught a pokemon, that's good," Pixel gave Comet a sly smile, suspiciously changing the subject in the middle of her accusing conversation. "I caught a pokemon too," she released Zebstrika from his pokeball, "and he's all rested up after taking a nap in his pokeball..."

Comet suddenly had the sinking feeling that he should really get out of the water...

"Shock Wave!"

To be Continued... (in Black and White)

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon, only Comet and Pixel are mine, minus the Team Rocket concepts, which belong to Nintendo. This story is based on Nafatali's Inheritance series, specifically Volume 7: Black and White. It takes place before Comet and Pixel's appearance there.

Comet and Pixel's fake identity as Lord and Lady Ragnarok is a reference to Norse Mythology, as is the name of the vacation spot, Valhalla Pokemon Resort and the employee's name, Odin. The yellow car wasn't a reference to anyone specifically, but the observation about Odin's hair was a reference to Rex, one of Laiki's ex's who appears in Don't Give Me Diamonds. Pixel is eating the Unova equivalent to a ham and pineapple topping pizza. The scene where Purry attempts to make Comet swallow his Gyarados is also in Diamonds.


	4. First Impressions

First Impressions

"Mr. Proton, Mr. Proton," some fifteen year old rookie called out while raising his hand as if this was some kind of classroom. The old warehouse didn't resemble a classroom at all.

Comet grinned, he was the youngest person there at the age of thirteen, but he was definitely not a rookie, these new guys, mostly teenagers, were rookies. They were the kind of rookies that were painfully obvious rookies.

"What?" Proton snapped, not at all happy with the mission he was given to train some of the new recruits. The other squads were full and though he had more important, higher ranked, business to tend to he had to fill in. It looked like he got all the rejects. "I told you that if you have any questions you should ask him!" He pointed at Comet with irritation. At the last minute he decided to drag Luke's kid along for the mission in hopes of dumping the rookies on him, because Proton definitely had better things to do than deal with a bunch of criminal wanna-be teenagers that had no idea what they were getting into. It was indeed a pity that all the other instructors got to choose their recruits before he was stuck filling in as the trainer of the poser squad.

"But Mr. Proton," the boy frowned. "He's younger than me." He was trying to sound tough and dangerously offended, but he just sounded like a whiner.

"Look, brat, this brat," he pointed at Comet again, "is higher ranked then any of you rookie brats. He's been around for a few years," more like all his life, "so take your business to him and quit interrupting me." Proton turned his attention back to the official business displayed on his laptop. He had some plans to discuss which was becoming impossible while he was stuck in a warehouse in Cinnabar Island babysitting a bunch of annoying teenagers.

The rookie tried to look tough and glared at Comet, "hey boy," he growled sounding like a Growlithe whose tail had been stepped on by a Golem. "There's an old drain pipe down in the basement. The pipe was used to dump stuff outside the warehouse when it was active. I was from Cinnabar Island so I should know; I know a lot about the local criminal activities. Anyway, the covers were loose and the slowpoke that were locked up down there escaped."

"What?" Proton screamed at the top of his lungs, "I told you and the others to guard those slowpoke, they'll be here to pick them up soon!" If he messed up such a painfully basic mission he would be the jester of the executive branch.

"Rookie," Comet emphasized the word because he knew it bothered the other boy. "You and the others come with me. I know were the pipe leads, we'll get the slowpoke back."

The fifteen year old glared, "I'm not going to be bossed around by some carrot top boy-band faced kid that's younger than me!" All it took was one punch from that same carrot top boy-band faced younger kid to silence him for the next few hours.

With Proton barking orders, insults and threats, and the inept rookies trying their best, which ranged from insignificant to counterproductive, a few minutes and several black eyes later, Comet managed to round up most of the slowpoke, except one. Proton decided that it would be his fault if the slowpoke didn't turn up, which left Comet to glare defiantly like any average thirteen year old boy would do when facing a challenge and declare that he would bring back the last missing slowpoke before the shippers came to pick up the merchandise.

With that mission waiting him, Comet ran through the streets of Cinnabar Island disguised as a civilian. It was the after school hour for those who attended the local schools and the streets were crowded with adolescents. There was some kid walking an Arcanine, or more like and Arcanine walking a kid. There was a group of five in skate boards. There were some surfers heading towards the beach. There were some girls giggling behind ice-cream while they pointed at him as if the ice-cream made them invisible. There was a girl with a backpack on her shoulders and a few books in her arms, dark hair, big glasses, a real geek. There were no slowpokes anywhere to be seen.

Comet continued his search and fifteen minutes later, he still had not found the missing slowpoke. He was running out of time. He walked past a house, rounded a corner and headed for the next street. He peeked into the yards just in case the missing slowpoke was hiding there. In one yard there was a lazy Persian napping in the shade of a tree. In another yard there was a Vileplume enjoying the sunshine and dancing for no apparent reason. In the next yard there was that geeky girl again, muttering something about annoying chores while she checked to see if the laundry that hung in the breeze outside was dry. She was perhaps fifteen, with long black hair with a few blue strands and a lack of suntan that made her seem out of place for a local of Cinnabar Island. Then he saw it, the missing slowpoke, or at least a slowpoke, which was close enough.

The slowpoke dashed out of the bushes next to the fence and towards the girl. "Slowpoke!" The pokemon cried out in fright as it ran right into her. The girl was taken by surprise and knocked to the ground. The pile of clothes she was carrying was thrown all over the ground and her glasses fell with a sickening crack.

"You stupid pink blob!" She probably couldn't even tell the difference between a ditto and a slowpoke without her glasses. This was his chance; Comet would jump over the fence, recover the get away stolen slowpoke and scare the living daylights out of some cootie filled geek while he was at it. Not that he still believed in cooties, but his self proclaimed big sister, Laiki, left room for doubt. Cooties or not it was time to take action, but something made Comet pause. Earlier that day he had heard the rookies discussing the so called sinister qualities of the color black. Sure, it was convenient to sneak around at night, and yes it was a classic color for a villain's wardrobe, although some would say it's the good guys that dress in black, but only rookies made such a big fuss about their new uniform. Maybe this was what it meant for black to be sinister.

The girl's eyes were black and glaring fiercely. She pulled herself to her feet and kicked the slowpoke. "Idiot! Now I'll have to get those clothes cleaned up again and you broke my glasses, do you know how much my prescription costs? Useless pink blob, you'll be even more deformed than you look by the time I'm done with you." Okay, so maybe she wasn't such a geek after all, Comet realized, she had too much of a mean streak to be completely geeky. Besides, now that her thick glasses were off and he got a chance to look at her enraged face, she was kind of cute...

About ten minutes later, a bloody pink pulp was literally thrown out of the yard by the angry girl. She went to pick up the remains of her glasses and laundry, once again giving the mistaken impression of being a harmless creature that anyone could pick on. The pink blob, which now actually looked like a blob even to those with perfect vision, landed out on the street, where Comet picked it up and rushed back to the warehouse. He made it back just in time.

As the shipment was sent away and the rookies recovered from their beating, Proton shook his head in mild amusement. "Sheesh, brat, you're certainly in a violent mood today, and I thought I was cruel at that age."

Comet considered pointing out that he only punched the rookies because they were hindering the progress of the mission and that he wasn't the one who put that slowpoke in such a pitiful state, but he didn't. Like any other overconfident thirteen year old boy, he nodded and accepted all charges as being true.

End

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon... but Comet and Pixel are totally mine. :P Yes, the girl was Pixel in her civilian days. She later fixes her eyes with laser surgery after joining Team Rocket and Laiki takes the opportunity to tease her about being able to see men in high definition. She also starts dying her hair blue soon after Team Rocket erases her past identity and the world takes her for dead. After all, the tech division would work with important info, they wouldn't need a civilian identity because they wouldn't be leaving, ever. All of this takes place chronologically before they are introduced in Don't Give Me Diamonds. It's also a small glimpse at the overconfident days of Comet before the loss of Zangoose taught him to be careful and not underestimate any mission. In the end, Comet never quite linked that girl to Pixel since she already had blue hair and no glasses by the time they met in Team Rocket. 


	5. Timeline Paradox

Two little crossovers between my "Don't Give Me Diamonds" and Nafatali's "The Inheritance" series that I just realized I had not posted on FFnet though I wrote them a while ago. "Always Watching" takes place during the time Skye (Vandel) spent in the present time. "Duel" takes place at the end of "Don't Give Me Diamonds". If you're spoiler sensitive, you'd best wait until you're done with "Don't Give Me Diamonds" to read "Duel". Both stories integrate aspects of "The Inheritance" into the "Don't Give Me Diamonds" timeline, so being familiar with it will help you understand them.

Always Watching

"Ow! The stupid force field won't let me in!"

Kair's day was just getting started and it had so far been boring. Giovanni wanted her to report to the gym for whatever reason. When she got there, Delia informed her he was out, off to an unplanned meeting in Johto. It made her wonder who would be the one to pay for that. With nothing planned for the day, Kair was walking out of the gym when she saw a teenage boy walk right into the glass double doors at the entrance.

The boy glared bloody murder at the glass doors, his expression disturbingly similar to a pissed off Giovanni. His hair was brown, with a golden line in the middle, spiked up. He rubbed his pained nose and picked up his red hat that fell off on impact. He was dressed in a similar way to Ash. Kair stared, no, it couldn't be, she couldn't have another little brother. His resemblance had to be an odd coincidence.

The boy looked as if he remembered something important exclaiming, "Oh yeah!" Then pushed the door open effortlessly, allowing his two pokemon to walk into the gym with him. The boy looked at the Persian and Vulpix that followed him. "Be careful you two, today we are going to challenge the great Giovanni for a gym battle." His eyes shone with admiration.

It was too bad for the boy, Giovanni wasn't in today. As the boy went on his way to request a gym battle, Kair silently let him go, let someone else break the news to him. He was odd, like a strange combination between Giovanni and Ash. The boy's Persian stopped and looked at Kair with piercing eyes. He was bigger than an average Persian and well built. For a moment she felt as if she was under her father's scrutinizing glare. His eyes seemed to compel a request, no, an order, for her to stay out of trouble.

"Let's go!" The boy called out for his strong looking Persian. The Vulpix that stood beside him had a look of pure sugary sweetness. What a strange trio.

As the Persian left to catch up with his trainer, Kair continued on her way. She really needed a vacation if she actually thought Giovanni was watching her through that Persian's eyes. The Vulpix reminded her of Delia. As for the boy, she saw Giovanni, Ash and something unknown in him, but he felt like a whole different person. It was the presence of the two pokemon that felt strangely similar to Giovanni and Delia. Kair decided that maybe she should go for a drive to clear her mind.

"What do you mean he's not here?" The boy's voice echoed; he had received the news. He grumbled under his breath as he headed out of the gym once again, passing next to Kair.

Kair was focused on her own thoughts. She was picturing the open highway passing by at an alarming speed as she pushed one of her father's cars to the limit. The look in her face spoke volumes to those who knew how to read it. Her father could certainly read her expression.

A loud hiss pushed Kair out of her thoughts. The boy's Persian was giving her a scolding look. It was as of he could read her face like a book. "Alright, alright, I'll stay out of trouble," she conceded and the Persian finally left her alone to follow his trainer away into the city. Kair shook her head, perhaps it really would do her some good if she spent the day resting.

End

xoxox xox xoxox

Duel

The following week passed by quickly as Ash prepared for the most challenging Indigo League competition ever to be held. Using his influence in the Pokemon League, Giovanni arranged it for invitations to be sent to all the top ranked trainers in every known region, even some of the gym leaders participated. Ash saw many familiar faces as he was reunited with many of his past traveling companions and people he met during his travels, all of them there to test their skills in the ultimate tournament.

One round after another ended as only the best trainers prevailed. Ash easily went through the first few rounds, finding more of a challenge later into the tournament, but still winning with ease. The time came to face the elite and Ash fought through with unbreakable determination until he reached Lance. By then his pokemon were understandably exhausted. The Indigo League was seen by many as the impossible challenge that skilled trainers couldn't help it but to pursue against all odds. Who could defeat al the elite trainers one after another when they each had an entire new team of Pokemon ready to battle and the challenger had to count on the same team for all the battles. No healing items were allowed between rounds as per the new tournament rules, turning the competition into a true search for a legendary master.

Ash had decided not to switch pokemon, though it was allowed to give them the chance to rest in their pokeballs. He explained to his carefully chosen team that this was necessary to establish a 'clear victory' as it was his goal. Pikachu, Charizard, Serperior, Feraligatr, Swellow and Snorlax understood and were willing to try their best and follow their trainer to victory.

By the time Ash reached Lance he had only Pikachu and Charizard able to battle, but was determined to win. The battle progressed strongly with vast skill and power being displayed on both sides, until finally; Lance was down to his last pokemon, Dragonite. The exhausted Charizard had fainted along with Aerodactyl, which left Pikachu as the last opponent.

"You look confident," Lance observed. He pulled a tiny remote control from his sleeve and pressed a button. The device was not captured by the cameras transmitting the epic duel within the Indigo League chambers to the spectators at the stadium and countless people in front of their TVs. "You've fought admirably so far, but this is more than just a Pokemon League battle, this will be a real duel!"

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered if Lance found his behavior suspicious, not switching pokemon and fighting more aggressively then usual, yet somehow also with more precision. Yet there was no way he could know if his connections with Team Rocket, could he? "What did you just do?"

"They're no longer watching us due to technical difficulties," Lance explained, of course, that was just an excuse. "The public might be disappointed to miss the end of this battle, but it's necessary. I know of your connection with Team Rocket, though the full story is a mystery to me. I suspected ever since I heard about your mother and Giovanni. I know what he's trying to do, he gathered everyone here to test their power and perhaps more so to test yours. I don't know what kind of agreement or relationship you hold with Giovanni, but this is to me a challenge from Team Rocket."

Ash decided it was best not to reveal too much and instead tried to present the better side of the situation. "Team Rocket is really not so bad. Just give the situation some time and you'll see that."

"Team Rocket wants to take over the world," Lance stated as a matter of fact, his face serious.

"They might take good care of it then; they will take good care of it. Mom and I will make sure of it and Dad is starting to see our point in his own way," Ash insisted.

Lance closed in eyes in thought. "Even if many words are exchanged, pokemon masters end to communicate better through battle. If you can defeat me, I'll be open to believing what you said, but I won't be easily convinced." To call him a master was an acknowledgement of Ash having reached a point where he was nearly impossible to beat. "This will be a true duel, not only between our pokemon, but also between us! Dragonite, take my power and use it as your own!" with a defying roar, the dragon pokemon began to glow. "This is something that only a select few can do, I give my power as the dragon master to Dragonite. With my energy in him, we fight as one!"

Dragonite's power was so overwhelming, it was almost tangible. Ash could feel the pulsations of energy running through the dragon pokemon's body. It looked as if he was invincible. "Pikachu!" It was Pikachu's voice that snapped Ash out of his awe.

"You're right Pikachu, we've come this far and we're not going to give up now!" If Lance was revealing his true power, Ash knew he had to answer in the same way to be able to battle against him. He focused his aura power; Ash's energy flowed smoothly into Pikachu, who because of their bond, had no trouble receiving it. The two trainers and their pokemon continued to glow as they lost the sense of their surroundings and felt as if they were floating in an endless nothingness where only their imposing power existed.

"Attack!" They called out in unison as their pokemon dashed forward surrounded by light and collided with abundant electricity and beams of energy similar to hyper beams but at the same time different. The effort put into the attack and the pain that came from the collision of the two strong pokemon was felt not only by the combating creatures, but by the trainers just as clearly. The connection between them was not broken as the pokemon continued to release their energy into each other in a brilliant flash of light that prevented anything from being clearly visible. They didn't need to watch the battle to know what was happening; both pokemon masters felt it all too clearly.

Many thoughts began to surface in Ash's mind as a result of the energy he was releasing. He remembered the most significant events of his life both joyful and harsh. The start of his journey, his many adventures, his family, friends, allies and loved ones. Was this the right thing to do? Could he trust Team Rocket to build a bright future out of the darkness that it had become? As the seed of doubt invaded Ash, his power began to diminish and both he and Pikachu felt the consequences. Ash pushed his energy to protect his dear companion, receiving the larger effect of Lance and Dragonite's combined power.

Ash knew he wouldn't last long that way. He couldn't doubt himself, he needed to be sure of what he was doing or he would lose. Then he remembered his promise to Mewtwo. He remembered how he had been in difficult situations before and managed to overcome them. He remembered how out of the trial of life, good rewards could come. Whatever the future brought, he would face it and those precious to him would be there to face it with him. As long as he had hope and determination, everything would work out. The details could wait until later, for now, all that Ash needed to do was trust.

With that trust, hope and understanding, his doubts evaporated, because he truly believed that a bright future was to come. For some reason, he remembered Skye and his mysterious pokemon. For him, for Mewtwo, for Misty, for his parents, for his friends, for his pokemon, for everyone, he would win and earn the power to help shape the future. The pain faded away and the building's roof and walls were reduced to dust being blown away in every direction with one last burst of power. The light dimmed, the energies calmed and a pokemon and trainer rested in a deep slumber from which they wouldn't wake until several hours later. There stood Ash, the victorious pokemon master, alongside his long time companion, Pikachu.

End

Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Kair belongs to Nafatali. 


	6. From Beyond

Although Loyalty can be read as a stand alone story, for those of you who read Don't Give Me Diamonds, this little one shot connects the two timelines and explains the origin of the Loyalty timeline, existing as a parallel timeline to Diamonds.

Alternate Timeline: Loyalty From Beyond

"Where am I?" Rather than a voice, it was a stream of psychic thoughts, a mental voice. He had no physical form, but existed as a collection of energy. "Did I... die?"

"You've passed on," a female psychic voice answered gently.

"Isn't that the same thing?" The male asked with some amount of annoyance. He always had a temper. "Team Rocket was left in ruins, but at least it brought the world down with it."

"Was that your wish?" The silhouette of a Gardevoir started to slowly become clearer.

The soul paused, then replied, "no. Everything fell apart after she died, it was that which made my son and I turn against each other..."

"Do you wish to change that?" The figure of the Gardevoir was clear now.

"To change history..." the soul mused. "If I wasn't a soul floating endlessly, while talking to some kind of pokemon angel, I wouldn't believe that to be possible. I want to change it... That time when she left, I'll go after her then, if Delia remains in Team Rocket, everything will be different, she'll live and Ash will be on my side." The soul of Giovanni glowed brightly as if wanting to break free of the stream of energy that guided him.

"Stop this! You will get a second chance. The opportunity to guide your descendant into amending history, but not at such an early point. You will recover her." Gardevoir tried to contain the energy coming from the strong soul.

"Recover her? I would rather never lose her in the first place!" A tare of light appeared in the endless stream of energy between worlds. There Giovanni saw himself with Delia's letter in his hands. She had left and he had not chased after her. "Go after her!"

The Giovanni of the past heard his own voice echoing in his head. He felt what his future self felt and knew he had to find Delia. She must have gone to Pallet Town. If that was true, then it wasn't much of a hiding place. She must want to be found, but what pushed her to leave in the first place? What secret worried her? He would find out.

"Stop this!" Gardevoir closed the tare in time. "Destiny already dictated that you would change history in the company of your descendant, his family would take measures to stop a paradox from occurring. By changing history at such an early point without precautions you have created a paradox. How can you regret not going after Delia if you did go after her? This timeline... I will separate it from the main one to prevent further consequences. When both timelines reach a point where they are at last the same, they will unite again. Yet, I fear that point in time is far away. Not even I know how long it will take for destiny to mend. Now go, go to the place of waiting."

The Gardevoir emitted a bright light, which pushed Giovanni out of the stream of many colors, causing him to loose consciousness in the process. When he woke up, he was in that mysterious place again, a place where he would stay until it was time to be reborn.

End


	7. Dark Light

Endless

This one isn't really a crossover like some of the other stories in this collection. This poem is based fully on Nafatali's Inheritance series. Kair is her character.

Dark Light

Kair:

I feel the pulse of legacy,  
On my shoulders heavily,  
A challenge of tenacity,  
A test of my intensity.

The lines blur, how to know?  
Who is it that is my foe?  
I could never let this go,  
Let the truth finally show.

Lance:

Everything I thought I knew,  
Has been shattered by you.  
New realities beyond broken glass,  
I never knew would come to pass.

Many secrets deep within,  
Of hidden places where we've been.  
The feeling courses through my skin,  
Out of control my world spins.

Kair and Lance:

In a journey we'll embark,  
Chasing after a bright spark,  
Don't forget this, my remark,  
Dark is light and light is dark.

Secret flame that burns bright,  
Show the way, pierce the night,  
Let destiny be realized,  
Light is dark and dark is light.

Always go with all your might,  
For all the battles that we fight,  
Hidden powers leave their mark,  
Dark is light and light is dark.

Warning!

This explamation has heavy spoilers!

Don't read it unless you've already finished the Inheritance series!

Team Rocket is "dark" as it is a criminal organization. The champion and G-man would be "light." Yet ironically it is Lance who is associated with the "dark" pokemon element and Kair with psychic which is like "light".

The first verse refers to Kair's discovery of her true identity. The second verse is about her struggle caught between being Lance's lover and enemy.

The third verse is about how Kair kept taking Lance by surprise. The forth verse refers to how he ended up digging out a past that he thought he could leave behind and they discovered how closely linked they were after all.

What they thought they knew (light) is full of secrets (dark) and what may appear as very different (light and dark), might be similar after all.

"Chasing after a bright spark," is sort of a "moth to a flame" kind of saying, something that's too intense to ignore even if there are consequences. Discoveries are made, trials are faced and every event leaves its mark in their lives. 


	8. Double

Endless

Double

"Right, tug your bangs into the hat and keep it pulled down. That's it, keep your face in the shadows." Laiki nodded in approval. All three women were in the medical area of the Viridian Rocket HQ where Laiki worked. It was the place to go for gossip. Being the lover of love scandals Laiki was, she would happily fuel as many as she could, braving the risks that came with that. "Okay, so Pixel here will take your place in our little Rocket party. Since you had an argument with the boss recently it's understandable that you avoid him, right?"

"Yes, I don't think he'll need to talk to me, just see that I'm there from afar." If Kair was in the little party, then it meant that she couldn't be off somewhere she shouldn't be, in company she shouldn't have. Teleporting mastery aside, it would be next to impossible to repeatedly go back and forth between considerable distances every few minutes for four or five hours without passing out of exhaustion. Even so, Kair had to point out the obvious, "this isn't going to work. Your face is too innocent, even in the shadows from a distance."

"The only direct similarity is the color of our hair," and it wasn't even the exact same shade. "This really isn't going to work," Kair concluded. Pixel agreed, though Laiki was still optimistic, maybe a different style of uniform or...

"C'mon Pixel, work with us here," Laiki encouraged. "Show us that predatory sadistic expression. Just pretend there's a naked Comet standing right in front of you!"

"I'm not predatory!" Pixel argued, "you know I'm always shy around guys and barely speak to them. It takes me forever to get comfortable enough to be friendly."

"Yeah, it's probably better for their health that you remain shy," Laiki teased.

Pixel pouted, "I don't like Comet. I already told you I like older men."

"Oh no, you're in love with the new mainframe hardware. When the covers were off for the circuitry to be adjusted, you were staring!" Laiki teased.

"This is getting weird," Kair mused aloud.

"It's nothing weird!" Pixel chirped, "it's kind of like when you see a really attractive car."

That was something Kair could somewhat relate to. Seeing that the two other women had apparently reached an understanding, Laiki commented, "my preference is for human males only. My Orange Islands boyfriend is coming to see me soon. It's going to be so much fun when he gets here. He's a Rocket too, so I can sneak him into my room at HQ. Well actually, I don't have to sneak him in. I'm taking him shopping so he can spoil me, then when we come back..."

"We don't need to know," Kair and Pixel chorused, surprising each other.

"It must be the night of synchronization for blue haired women," Laiki joked.

"Then it must be the night of trouble for red haired men," Kair added, whether she had a double or not, she still fully intended to kidnap Lance tonight.

End

Kair belongs to Nafatali. This crossover takes place in the middle volumes of the Inheritance series. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. 


	9. Dreams

Endless

Dreams

With their mission completed they waited for the right moment to move, in a little cabin in the middle of no where. The place was small, not furnished and falling apart, but it provided enough cover. When the coast was clear they would make their get away back to headquarters. To their dismay, Proton insisted that they wait for a while to ensure they weren't seen. It was ridiculous and Kair was sure he was just being annoying. None the less, they listened for the sake of being able to rest for a while.

Kair, Comet and Pixel, sat on the floor with most of their pokemon in their pokeballs. Pixel had closed her eyes, falling asleep after a long period of insomnia, which was normal for her and thus didn't really bother her. Comet never needed much sleep so he sat perfectly still even after Pixel unconsciously leaned on him as if trying to get more comfortable. A few minutes passed and she started to laugh in her sleep.

Kair raised an eyebrow, then curiously looked at Comet for a possible answer. "She sometimes laughs in her sleep, but she never talks." He stated to indicate that it was nothing unusual, "who knows what kind of dreams she's having."

Kair could come up with a number of theories, but had no clue about which one was true, "do we even want to know?"

"Given the fact that she practically laughs her head off at horror movies, I think it's best if her dreams remain private," Comet concluded.

Pixel's unconscious laughter continued softly. She moved her legs scratching against the old wood with an unpleasant sound loud enough to bother the conscious, but not loud enough to wake her. "Make her stop," Kair leaned back against the wall in the corner to the right from Comet and Pixel, she could use a short nap, it was clear they were in no danger to be discovered. Besides, they would hear the Growlithe coming and if not be alerted by their pokemon look out, Purry, who sat on the little cabin's roof.

However, Kair found she couldn't get to sleep, she was tired, but not in the mood for sleep, even if it sounded like a contradiction. Her mind wandered in random thoughts and she noticed that though they were in no way a couple out of a cheesy soap opera, a fact that she was glad for, Comet and Pixel must have been together after all. It seemed obvious upon seeing the calm in their closeness and the casual certainty with which Comet explained that Pixel sometimes laughed in her sleep.

Though Kair had been with them on a mission before, she had not noticed such signs, or maybe they had not been present while they were working and focusing on the mission. Her mind shifted to Lance and she found herself wondering where that came from, then realized that it wasn't simply because there was another couple near by, but rather because the couple in question was composed of a red haired man and a blue haired woman. Though Lance's hair was a deeper red tonality than Comet's red-orange, the basic colors of red and blue was what stood out to her. Except those two were both Rockets.

Comet tried to hold Pixel's legs still to stop the scratching noise. She responded by coiling up into a little ball with her knees against her chest. Then suddenly her eyes shot open and she sat up reaching for the tiny cell phone on her belt next to her pokeballs. She opened it up and looked at it. She rolled her eyes at the message; it was just Laiki in one of her nonsensical ramblings about one of her boyfriends forgetting the monthaversary of some random thing. Pixel never cared for monthaversaries, or anniversaries or fluffy stuff.

"Did I just see little sparks from your cell?" Comet inquired.

"I sleep like a rock so I modified it to give me a little shock," Pixel shrugged and put her phone back on her belt, no longer in the mood to nap.

"What was your funny dream about?" Kair decided to try to satisfy her curiosity after all.

"It was silly really," Pixel confessed. "There was this new criminal organization, Team Music or something. They were disguised as a record label and we had to infiltrate them. You were on vocals and played the bass, Comet played the guitar and I was the director and manager. The guitar and bass had some sort of laser weapons in them, like something out of a sci-fi movie. The stage equipment hid a lot of heavy artillery that I would use to watch your backs while you performed on stage and caught the attention of Team Music's leader to gain more access in the organization." It was no easy task for Pixel's dream self, despite being blessed with reality bending abilities that no living creature outside of dreams could hope to possess. She had to watch their backs, manage the special effects and do some hacking on the side, all the while not getting distracted by the music show or the noise of the crowd.

"I think the worse part is I can actually picture that," Kair commented. After seeing Team Magma, Aqua and Galaxy, she didn't doubt that something as ridiculous as Team Music could exist.

"You're not really telling us the whole story," Comet observed.

Pixel grinned, "it was the outfits. Petrel designed them along with the band's image. You were called the Rockin' Rockets because it was apparently so obvious that no one would ever suspect it involved Team Rocket. The outfits were completely ridiculous fan service. They were made of some sort of shiny black plastic-like fabric with more zippers and belts that anyone could be comfortable with. It was no wonder you had to be armed and needed backup, it would be impossible to run, let alone kick in those pants."

Pixel fell into a fit of laughter and Kair curiously scooted over. She had a feeling she would regret this. She placed both index fingers on the sides of Pixel's head and began to focus. Catching where this was going, having previously become aware of Kair's abilities, Pixel threw the image to the front of her mind. Pictures filled Kair's mind and she had to back away and shake her head. "Never ever describe any of that to Petrel!" Pixel was amused by the outburst, but showed a knowing look that promised she would keep quiet about it. "Was Lance the drummer?" Kair asked.

"Yeah, our drummer mysteriously disappeared and he had to step in," Pixel confirmed.

"How come his outfit wasn't as... detailed as Comet's," despite the initial shock of having the image thrown into her mind when Pixel focused on it, catching a glimpse of Lance in a similarly ridiculous outfit in the background was still amusing.

"My subconscious has less imagery to work with," Pixel logically explained.

Her statement made Comet shift uncomfortably, "what in the world did you show her?"

"It wasn't anything too bad..." Pixel never stopped looking amused.

Kair massaged her temples, "what was that other thing you threw at me?"

"Other thing?" Pixel honestly didn't seem to know what it was.

"What else were you thinking of?" Kair elaborated. "It looked complicated."

"Oh that," Pixel remembered that in her dream she was also hacking. "Codes, I was dreaming about computer codes too and they must have gotten stuck to the dream's images."

Kair tried to shake the codes out of her head, they were headache inducing. "You were right," she finally told Comet, "it's best if her dreams stay private."

End

Kair belongs to Nafatali. This crossover takes place in the middle volumes of the Inheritance series. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. 


	10. A New Hope

Endless

A New Hope

The announcement came suddenly and without warning. One second Jonathan was watching TV with his loyal Eevee curled on his lap and his uncle Meowth beside him and the next his mother was scooping him into her arms muttering excitedly about something or other and carrying him to his room. She went through the closet in a rush while calling out to his father to remember to bring the gifts. "Mommy?" The four year old looked at his mother with inquisitive eyes while she insisted in rushing him to wear a little suit that he did not remember wearing before.

"We need to hurry, honey," Jessie prompted, straitening her young son's tie. "The princess is on her way and we can't miss this event!" She took a step back and looked at her son, nodding in approval. "Go tell your dad not to forget to bring the gifts," she sent him on his way and went to change herself.

Jonathan took a moment to watch his uncle Meowth fussing for a while, then went to find his father. James was packing several gift wrapped boxes into the car, while Meowth fussed some more. "Mommy said not to forget the presents..."

"Don't worry, I already put them all in the car," James assured.

"You haven't changed yet?" Jessie came out of the house, looking as if she was attending a gala. She finished putting on a new pair of earrings and pulled out a lipstick from the small purse on her arm. "James, we're going to be late!"

"I was loading the presents into the car." He motioned to the trunk and back seat full of pink wrapped boxes.

"That's no excuse, go change, hurry!" Jessie pushed her husband towards the house hurriedly. "Meowth, did you set up the closed sign? Did you transfer all the Pokemon to Gary's lab temporarily? It won't do that the pokemon we're taking care of go hungry because we're not here to tend to them. The day care center would be ruined and we'll lose our cover here at Saffron and the boss will fire us!"

"I already did all that." Between fussing and fussing some more, Meowth had accomplished his duties as planned.

"I'm ready," James hurried out of the house, still in the process of properly putting on his tie. It was Jessie's idea that they should dress up.

"Not yet," Jessie pulled his tie into place, almost chocking him with the motion. "There, now let's go, I'm a faster driver so I'm driving. We don't have much time to get to Viridian!"

James paled and, with a stream of incoherent babbles that could have been prayers of mercy, he deposited his sun into the backseat of the car and made sure to tightly fasten the seatbelt.

xoxox xox xoxox

During the course of the speedy drive, where in Jessie drove like a maniac, ignoring the Jennies that tried to make her stop, Jonathan had remembered when they got the pink boxes. They were girly gifts, all of them, nothing that particularly interested him, thus he was not tempted to try to unwrap any of them. They had dolls, bows, dresses and such things and there was a lot of pink.

The little boy also remembered something else. His parents had mentioned that the gifts were for a princess and at first Jonathan imagined a lady with a dress and tiara like the princesses in the story books. Then he learned that the princess was younger and though he wasn't sure how young, he imagined a girl, in the same dress and tiara that characterized clefairy tale princesses. "Daddy..."

"Yes," James was gripping the sides of his seat for dear life as he saw the scenery rapidly fly by and tried to ignore the police sirens.

"Are we really going to meet a princess?" Jonathan asked with curiosity. Normally, girls had cooties, but this girl was a princess. Surely her royalty would render her immune and make her pleasant company.

"Oh yes we are, she's your princess too, our families have always been close, for generations." It was only one generation in James' case and Johnny would be the second one, but in Jessie's case, her mother had been a Rocket before her, since the early years of the organization.

"Like knights?" Jonathan asked curiously. If his parents were knights, then did that make him one too? That sounded fun.

"Yeah, just like royal knights," James smiled despite the fear that crept over every inch of his body because of his wife's reckless driving.

Satisfied with his father's reply, Jonathan was quiet for a while, occupying himself in petting Eevee. The pokemon had been meant for him even before the boy was born, as the egg had hatched when Jessie was still expecting. The Eevee was the child of a Flareon that was initially trained by Ash, then given to Jessie after she had fallen in love with James' Growlithe.

"Uncle Meowth?" Jonathan finally spoke again.

Meowth ceased his mutterings of hope and nervousness and looked at the little boy. The child had his father's hair and his mother's eyes. "Yes, Johnny?"

"Do you think the princess will play with me?"

"Of course she will, later," Meowth replied with a smile.

'Later?' Jonathan mused. Did she have royal duties to tend to or something? Well of course, she was young, but she was still a princess.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the wild drive was over, Jessie finally parked at the Viridian City hospital. She had a parade of officer Jennies after her, but she didn't care. "I'm on official business for the Viridian City gym!" The redhead announced before one of the Jennies could even begin to express her disapproving accusations.

The officer glared. The Rocket mafia had grown stronger in the past few years and there was little the police could do without risking a terrible retaliation, especially in the heart of their territory.

Ignoring the Jennies, Jessie and James grabbed the multitude of boxes and, with Meowth and Johnny following, they headed inside the hospital. After showing some ID they were allowed into the top floor where right there in the hall way a rocket executive meeting was taking place. They had to pause and stare.

"And that's why we should sell these fine products!" Petrel finished, holding up a t-shirt with a picture of the Viridian Gym's badge with some intricate background design.

"I'll consider it," Giovanni voiced. Delia, who was next to him, had a death grip on his arm, as if he would run off the second she let go of him. He paused to look at her, "you're cutting my circulation."

Delia only held on tighter in response, "deal with it," she smiled sweetly. "I want to be here and I want you to be here with me. The baby could be born any second!"

"That's what you've been saying for the past hour," Giovanni reminded.

Yet Delia didn't want him to leave, she wouldn't let go of him. "Well it's still true."

"What's our next topic?" Giovanni prompted, giving up on reasoning with Delia when she was in such a state.

"The new pokeballs under development..." Ariana flipped through her agenda, while Archer looked at something on his laptop and Proton took a moment to stretch and yawn.

Before the conversation could continue, Ash, who had been staring at the sound proof door behind which Misty was, gasped as if the mere action of yelping in pain was too much to manage. With his face contorted in pure agony, he promptly fainted. Delia finally released her grip on Giovanni's arm to catch Ash's head before it hit the floor. "Ash!"

Giovanni flexed his arm in relief, good to see that it still worked despite the numbness. "I may not be an expert in aura, but I told him it was a bad idea to focus his senses so much on the energy of a woman in labor."

"Oh, he was just worried and wanted to check on Misty's life force," Delia insisted. "Ash... honey? He's out cold..."

"Pikapi!" Pikachu volunteered to remedy the situation with a jolt of electricity to his trainer, the sparks of which reached all those present, though none nearly as harshly as Ash.

"Is it over?" Ash asked in a daze when he awoke.

"Not yet..." Delia smiled gently.

"But it's been hours..." Ash frowned.

"Some births take more time than others, I'm sure everything is fine," Delia assured. It wasn't long after that when the news came that the little girl had been born.

xoxox xox xoxox

Naturally, Misty was exhausted, but very relieved as she held the little pink bundle in her arms. She had red hair like her mother and eyes that were a mirror image of her father's with a fiery determination on them already visible from the start. People crowded around the baby, talking to the parents, cooing at the child and giving out their congratulations. There were many pokemon there as well. Already a baby Meowth, the child of Givoanni's Persian was curled up next to the future trainer. Though the Meowth was also still a new born, he already seemed to have a certain protectiveness for the girl, as well as her other pokemon companion, which was still little more than an egg, but would soon hatch into a Pichu, the child of her father's loyal companion.

Through the array of people and pokemon, that continued to arrive, Jonathan curiously peeked up to see what the fuss was about. That was the princess? She was still a baby! No wonder Meowth said she would play with him later, she couldn't really walk, or even talk at the moment, very much less have a pokemon battle. But she still had her own pokemon, just as he remembered having Eevee for his whole life.

Misty extended one hand to the little boy beckoning him to sit on the bed next to her, cradling the child on her other arm and simultaneously holding a conversation with all of her sisters at the same time, while miraculously not being rendered terribly dizzy by the multitude of voices around her. The bed was a little crowded now with children and pokemon and there were people all around her, squealing with joy and congratulating the new parents, but Misty seemed to be protected by a force field of joy that made it so that not even the continuous high pitched squeals of her sisters could bother her at the moment.

Jonathan stared at the baby's face with curiosity and a barely audible, "princess?"

She giggled and reached out to him.

Though his hand was small, the tiny newborn could scarcely grasp his finger on her little hand. "Nice to meet you, princess. I'll be your knight, so just tell me if you need anything, okay?"

Though she probably had no idea what he was talking about, she smiled and held his hand a little tighter.

xoxox xox xoxox

Eleven years later... "Finally, we're here!" The red haired girl cheered, brown eyes scanning the premises. "Pallet Town, the starting point of my journey!"

A boy of fifteen leaned back on the driver's seat of his car and looked around. He was a year short of obtaining a driver's license, but Rockets never really play by the rules anyway. "So what's our first stop, the Oak lab?"

"No, I'm not going to ask for any more pokemon. I already have two and I want to catch more on my own," the girl replied. "Our first stop is Viridian City."

"But we just came from there..." the boy pointed out.

"We have to do this right; Pallet Town is the starting point of my journey. Now we're going to Viridian through the forest and camping there for a night so I can take the time to catch some pokemon. Oh and before that, I'm going to pick a fight with some Spearow on the way to the forest, gotta test my battling skills and all." She nodded in approval of her own plan.

"If you say so..." the boy chuckled.

"What? It's a great training opportunity and you know what my goal is," the girl insisted.

The boy nodded, "you remind me often enough." He started driving out of Pallet Town.

Even though it was redundant, the girl gave him an eager grin and reminded him again. "I want to be the very best..."

End?

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. The title is a reference to Star Wars. This is just a little something to elaborate on my previous stories and take a small peek into the future. :)


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